As Keith Raniere's company hits its stride, he lures billionaire heiresses and hollywood actresses into the fold. But not everyone is content to stay under his thumb, and when people speak out against him, Keith goes scorched earth.

To listen to all four episodes of 'NXIVM' right now and ad-free, subscribe in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠AmericanCriminal.com⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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By the turn of the century, Keith Raniere had launched a new company that would not only bring him vast sums of money, it would also give him access to vulnerable people in search of ways to improve themselves. They’d willingly share their deepest secrets, their insecurities, and Keith would use that insight to control them all.

To listen to all four episodes of 'NXIVM' right now and ad-free, subscribe in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or at ⁠⁠⁠⁠AmericanCriminal.com⁠⁠⁠⁠

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In 2017, a little-known consulting firm called NXIVM became the center of an international scandal. One day, no one had heard of the group at all. The next, people were calling it a cult. But this wasn’t your typical religious fringe group. Then again, a little digging definitely made things sound more cult-like: there were accusations of a secret society, psychological manipulation, imprisonment, occult sexual abuse. Then there was the group’s founder, Keith Raniere...

To listen to all four episodes of 'NXIVM' right now and ad-free, subscribe in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or at ⁠⁠⁠AmericanCriminal.com⁠⁠⁠

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Obviously, most of us don’t use the internet as a search engine for murder. But there are bad apples in every bunch.

Richard Beasley was one of those bad apples. When he decided he wanted to kill people, he sought the desperate, the lonely, and the forgotten. And thanks to modern technology, there was one place he could go to cast as wide a net as possible: Craigslist.

On her show, The God Hook, journalist Carol Costello traces the origins of this serial killer, and the lives of the people touched by his evil.

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In 2017, a little-known consulting firm called NXIVM became the center of an international scandal. One day, no one had heard of the group at all. The next, people were calling it a cult. There were accusations of a secret society, psychological manipulation, imprisonment, occult sexual abuse. Then there was the group’s founder, Keith Raniere – a self-styled genius whose followers worshipped him and called him “Vanguard.” Suddenly, everyone wanted to know: where had this group come from? Who was Keith Raniere? And how had he hoodwinked so many people in this day and age?

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After her daughter Shanna was disqualified from the cheerleading tryouts, Wanda Holloway was seeing red. In her mind, there were two people responsible for Shanna not being a cheerleader: Verna Heath and her daughter Amber. And there was only one thing she could do. Both of them had to go, so it was time for Wanda to find a hitman.

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As Wanda Holloway married, divorced, and remarried, one thing in her life remained constant: her obsession with making her daughter a cheerleader. But when it came time for tryouts, Wanda discovered that the path to glory would be rockier than she expected.

To listen to all three episodes of 'To Kill a Cheerleader' right now and ad-free, subscribe in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or at ⁠⁠AmericanCriminal.com⁠⁠

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It was a case that made headlines around the world: Texas mother hires hitman to kill her neighbor -- over cheerleading. But how did it get to that point? What was it that drove Wanda Holloway to believe that killing the mother of her daughter's rival would get her what she wanted?

To listen to all three episodes of 'To Kill A Cheerleader' right now and ad-free, subscribe in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or at ⁠⁠AmericanCriminal.com⁠⁠

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It's hard to remember that we're all living through history every day, and that some of the people who lived through the turbulent periods we learn about through books and podcasts are still alive to tell the story. Now that you've heard about the Weather Underground, listen to the tale from one of its founding members. This is an interview with Bill Ayers from Parthenon Podcast Network's 'Eyewitness History'.

To listen to all four episodes of 'The Weather Underground' right now and ad-free, subscribe in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or at AmericanCriminal.com

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In 1991, a small Texas town just outside of Houston was shocked to discover just how far one mother was determined to go to ensure her child’s success. When Wanda Holloway’s teenage daughter failed to make the cheerleading team, she became obsessed with the girl she felt stood in the way. In her mind, this other girl and her mother were cheats, and suck-ups. That meant they had to go.

Listen to American Criminal: To Kill A Cheerleader wherever you get your podcasts. To get early, ad-free access to the entire season first, subscribe in Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or at AmericanCriminal.com

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